The Baby

nine

kalani depradine

I vowed to never step foot in that spa again. Instead I joined a yoga group for pregnant women which would be an even better stress reliever. I've only had one class, but so far it's nice meeting women who are also experiencing all the same things in their pregnancy, minus the baby daddy who doesn't want their child.

Entering my apartment, I set my keys on the table by the door and removed my shoes. The driver stopped at this burrito place on the way home and now all I needed was a long shower and my comfortable bed.

I went to my room, jumping against the wall at the shadow lingering by my nightstand. I quickly turned on the light to see Grayson holding a picture frame of mine. He set the photo down then turned to look at me. He was here, just casually standing in my apartment like a weirdo and this is the second time he has been able to get inside here.

"Do you have a key or something?" I caught my breath.

"You'd be surprised how compliant people are when you slip them a hundred dollar bill and inform them you need to urgently see the mother of your child," he sat on the edge of my bed. He was still in his suit.

"I thought you were in China," I swallowed a heap of air, keeping my back against the wall.

"I arrived an hour ago. I wanted to come see you," his eyes went to my stomach hidden under a baggy hoodie.

"Why?" I crossed my arms. He just arrived an hour ago and instead of going home and catching up on sleep, he chose to come see me.

His jaw tensed. "Because I miss you," he confessed and hearing it was almost like a breath of fresh air because I missed him too. I missed his annoying, spontaneous calls and text messages. They showed he was thinking about me and him thinking about me during his spare time makes me happy.

"For someone who doesn't want to be romanticized, you definitely make that difficult," I muttered before he shared his smile with me. He rarely smiles, almost like he has nothing to smile about. But when he does smile, it feels like a crime because it's so adorable. He even has dimples.

"Come here. How's my baby?"

I moved closer to him, letting him bring my hoodie up to examine my belly. For the first time ever, he placed his hand on my stomach and for some reason I wanted to cry. I didn't know it would feel so good to have him rub it and not treat the baby like the plague Bria said it is.

"She's good," I told him and his eyes lit up as they looked up at me. He looked excited and it only confused me. Everything is confusing with him.

"She?" He confirmed.

"Yeah. I found out the gender three days ago," I brought hair behind my ear. His thumb stroked my stomach.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there," he spoke under his breath with disappointment. I sat down beside him while pulling my hoodie down.

"There's no need to be sorry. I didn't expect you to," I tried to share a warming smile but it probably just turned out forced and sad. "How was your trip?" I asked him and he remained silent as he stared at the wall.

"I don't want to talk about my trip," his adam's apple bobbed before he tapped his finger along his knee. "I've been doing a lot of thinking. All I do is think."

I nodded. "Me too," I agreed.

After scratching the back of his neck, he looked at me. His eyes looked extremely green and I was losing my train of thought. "You're having this baby and I don't want you to do it alone," he said the words like he was being forced. But no one forces Grayson Astor to do anything.